“Can You Every
Forgive Me?” is a great movie on several levels and for several
reasons. The performance from Melissa McCarthy – in a year in which
she gave us “The Happytime Murders” - is a genuinely great piece
of work. And yes Melissa, I will forgive you for that horrid puppet
disaster. Featuring a rare dramatic performance from the usually
silly star, the film forces us to care about a person who does
horrible things and befriends a horrible person. That other horrible
person is played by Richard E. Grant in a wonderful, scene-stealing
performance. Despite the fact that this is a film about a writer who
forges letters from other famous writers – which frankly sounds
like a bore, it is anything but- it’s gripping, funny and sad. It’s
not so much a story about a writer so much as it is a story about a con
artist who we root for to get away with crime after crime as she
tries to turn her crappy life around. It was enthralling.
Set in the early
90s, Melissa McCarthy players writer Lee Israel who wrote several
biographies. The film is set several years after the release of her
failed book about Estee Lauder. Stuck in a rut of financial woes and
writer’s block Israel begins selling some of her possessions
including a letter from Katherine Hepburn. While researching for an
upcoming book about Fanny Brice, Israel happens upon a letter written
by Fanny and before she knows it Israel begins forging letters from
other dead writers to sell to collectors who are completely fooled by
their seeming authenticity. Israel spends most of her time writing in
bars where she converses with her eccentric friend Jack (Grant) who
she confides in about her forgery.
Writers Nicole
Holofcener and Jeff Whitty have crafted a pretty well-done script
considering we’re pretty much watching a woman write most of the
time. Marielle Heller’s direction is also superb. They dare to make
Israel an unlikable antihero – she’s nasty and snippy to almost
everyone she comes in contact with – her apartment is a disgusting
mess – and she’s generally unkempt – but somehow those involved obviously McCarthy make the character even a bit relatable and
sympathetic. For instance, when her cat becomes ill and she can’t
even afford the vet bills Israel is obviously at wit’s end.
McCarthy and Grant also have a naturalist chemistry together – the
banter given to them by the screenwriters is really fun to watch. And
it’s really amazing how quickly you get caught up in what Israel is
doing – and how seemingly easy it is for her to do. Of course it’s
not all a piece of cake, one sequence involving her stealing actual
documents from an archive is as suspenseful in anything in a
“Mission: Impossible” movie.
“Can You Ever
Forgive Me?” was a sheer joy from start to finish. The film has
been nominated for three Oscars and it’s this reason I even checked
it out. I’m so glad I did – further proof that the Academy does
actually make good choices sometimes if you’re willing to seek out
some of smaller films that are equally deserving of finding the right
audience. GRADE: A-
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